


Radiance

by Aloice



Category: Final Fantasy XIII Series
Genre: Comfort No Hurt, F/M, NaNo 2017 tag, the elusive Aloice floof (kind of)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-07 20:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12848478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aloice/pseuds/Aloice
Summary: Hoperai and their happy ever after.Because those two being big soft nerds is a wonderful thing.





	Radiance

**Author's Note:**

> The quote is from a tumblr user. The Valentine's Day section is inspired by a gorgeous piece of fanart about them I've seen around.

_Now, the sky is still one of the things that I love the most, and so are you._

_Now, when I talk about you, my words turn into constellations._

\- almenotre

She thinks she wakes more often than she’d like. Those are only lucid dreams, of course: visions of a lost homeland hanging in the sky like a watercolor moon, the touch of snowy feathers lighter than rain, the glow of a phantom rose against a withering mother’s cheeks. She smiles and weeps. The tears dry just below her lashes, remembrance in living belief.

_Is it…_

The scene shifts, as she falls out of air. The music slows down, before picking up pace. There’s a violet-robed figure in the distance, his visage blurry in the haze. And then there’s God, a twisted divine face in metallic crystalline green and grey, raging at her, vowing to take her, screaming –

_Light?_

_Light._

The guardian and the deity falls away. Behind the curtain of russet and carnation there’s only an over-earnest child brimming with curiosity and empathy, and before she knows it he’s tall and wise and there’s moonlight in his hair and all of spring in his eyes. He reaches out to her, something for her to protect and someone to protect her all rolled into one. Softly rocking her in her bed. _Light. It’s going to be okay._

_Hope?_

_Yeah?_

_I’m so glad you are human_ , she mumbles, as his almost-incredulous smile and warmth fills her heart from behind her shoulder blades.

 

He always waits for her to get off work, picking up lattes and mochas beforehand so she’ll have a little light to hold and sip from in the falling snow. She doesn’t ask how he knows all of her favorite flavors. He doesn’t ask how she always gets off promptly even in the busiest weeks.

 _Wear darker colors, please,_ she jokes once in a while, gazing into the clear and tranquil oceans of his eyes. _I don’t want to lose you in all the snow or marble buildings._

 _As long as you’ll keep dressing like a strawberry_ , he teases, pulling her in as he presses a small box of chocolates against her flushed face. _Happy Valentine’s Day._

 

The phone – a definite upgrade from the intercom, since they already know that they can usually read each other’s thoughts. Texts back and forth; snapchats of fashion shows and academia; voice messages just to say _good morning_ and _I love you_. She listens to him ramble when there’s time in between photoshoots or when she is alone. The soothing element of his voice tides over her fears and anxieties, weave security and belonging into her together with Serah’s endless lists of aesthetics posts and schoolchildren’s antics. The Lightning of Cocoon or Valhalla ~~(or even Fang)~~ would probably have laughed at all of this, chided her for becoming too soft – but hasn’t Lumina earned this right to be childish, to simply want to be loved?

 _I guess I don’t need to be anyone’s savior except yours_ , she sends to him one day, typing words abashedly with burning hands in response to something particularly touching he’s said about one of her dreams. He’s getting her to become a sappy romantic. It’s all kinds of embarrassing.

 _Just saving yourself is fine_ , the text comes back a minute later with a wink emoji, and she wants to throw the phone against the wall even as another part of her wants to cradle it close to her chest. _You saved me a long time ago._

 

 _But how do you do this?_ She wonders out aloud one night, after they’ve both had some wine and have come to settle together on a soft velvet bed, their arms wrapped around one another. The sounds of the fireworks are starting to die out, but they can still see the starlight reflected on the water in the bay, note the transit of stars and planets in the sky. _Be so… strong. You don’t look at all like what you’ve been through._

He doesn’t move, but she feels an edge creep into his voice, a slightly melancholic and wary tone that she fleetingly remembers from the Palumpolum nutriculture complex, over more than a thousand years ago. _What if I tell you I’m just better at pretending?_

 _But don’t_ , she argues fiercely, tightening her embrace. _I want you to be happy, too._

_I am. I just need to trust it. You are so **real** , Light, you know? It’s frankly so amazing. You’ve always fought tooth and nail and stood for everyone and everything you loved. There’s a part of me that can’t really believe that you’re here now, that we’re together like this. I…_

_Hope. What are you scared of?_

She thinks she hears his breath hitch. _Light, what if I’m not really real? My memories, my feelings, my existence –_

She sighs in exasperation even as she clings harder onto him, forces him to feel her heartbeat. _You are here now, aren’t you?_ _You’re real to me and everyone, and that’s all that matters. Would it make you feel better if I tell you I’ll fight to make you believe that you are real?_

 _Light,_ he pleads, his breath warm next to her face, _this is dumb and I’m sorry._

 _You’ve put up with enough bullshit as is._ She stares at him, wonders why he considers her of all people worthy. He could have had anyone, anything; a part of him has built this very universe they’re now living in. _Tell me, how can I help?_

His fingers trace the invisible scars and wounds under her skin; she thinks she can sense them flare at his touch. It’s a while before his voice drifts back, a solemn whisper. _Tell me about Lumina._

 _Only if you tell me about Bhunivelze_ , she responds, frowning, and the darkness between them swells with the honeysuckle glow of his chuckle.

 

 _Let me give the world back to you_ , he says –

 _\- And let me anchor your heart right in it_ , she calls back.

They both dream such radiant dreams.


End file.
